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Wednesday, 3 September 2008

Small earthquake in Oxford - all OK

Congratulations to Canon Keith Lamdin on his appointment as principal of Sarum College, an ecumenical theological and spirituality learning centre in Salisbury. For the past 25 years, Keith has led the team delivering education and minstry development in our diocese. Keith has pioneered leadership training, firmed up clergy supervision and support, parish development and work consultancy throughout our network of 800 local churches in the Thames Valley. He's also put serious hard work into our international partnerships, especially with Kimberley and Kuruman. 25 years of anyone's working life is bound to have its hits and misses, but these transformational pieces of work have been big hits.

After a ministry review in the early nineties my bishop suggested I might have a lot to learn and something to give to ministry education. I phoned Keith, and it was the way into work improving training for training incumbents which transformed my thinking and feeling about ministry, and led me into work consultancy with colleagues, leadership development and a host of other developmental delights.

I will always be grateful to Keith for his support and encouragement, the honesty of his feedback, and his commitment to the big picture — we are called to be a learning discipled community, not institutional custodians. I don't want to get too sappy about the past or the future — learning means ongoing change, and no sacred cows. But I did want to say thank you, and offer love and prayers to Keith for a joyful and fruitful future ministry. With God the best is always what is yet to be...

Child of God by adoption and grace, husband of Lucy, father of five, jumped-up vicar (Area Bishop of Buckingham).
Born Edinburgh. Deacon 1979, Priest 1980, Bishop 2003. Cambridge MA, Oxford DPhil — ‘I am a doctor, but not the kind that helps people.’ I trained for ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall. I have worked in various C of E contexts, urban and suburban, as well as in prison.